"Cluster by Plump"

Links to Plump Trio

About this site

An installation like Cluster requires months of preparation. This blog is a visual record of these preparations. The photos and videos in this blog are by Melbourne photographer Michael Blamey

About Plump and Cluster

Plump is a trio comprising sculptor Marc Rogerson and sound artists Philip Samartzis and Dave Brown. The intention of Plump is to create site specific installations of kinetic, illuminated sculpture and sound art. Projections are by Marcia Jane

Cluster is created for the VCA Margaret Lawrence Gallery (VCA Gallery) space and comprises 100 odd suspended illuminated ‘pods’ which will be moved by air currents driven by electric fans. The fans will be switched by a computer program which will be triggered by motion sensors detecting the presence and movement of visitors. The attendant soundscape will be drawn from both samples of the sound of the pods knocking together plus various sound constructions created by the sound artists. For the visitor to the installation, the experience of sound, touch and light will have an encompassing sensory effect. The visitor will be encouraged to touch the sculptures and interact with the installation. Cluster will attempt to create an environment within the installation where the laws of classical physics are suspended.

Art and Science

A crucial aspect of the interactivity of Cluster with the visitor is the symbolism behind the uncertainly principle in quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics is the branch of physics which concerns itself with the subatomic world. This involves quantum entities such as electrons and protons which are smaller than atoms and do not behave according to the classical laws of Newtonian physics. Simply put, our normal, everyday use of language and perception are irrelevant in a subatomic environment. Nothing behaves as per our everyday, human scale world. And, importantly, the presence of an observer renders the observed changed by the action of being observed. In fact, the observed entity only becomes an entity with time-space coordinates by being observed.Cluster will, using art rather than science, create an effect in the visitor to evoke this quantum world. The installation will have a random kinetic, light and sound play which will happen when no-one is there to observe it. It will never be observed because the moment that someone enters the space, theinstallation changes.